"Delay is natural to a writer. He is like a surfer—he bides his time. Waits for the perfect wave on which to ride in. He waits for the surge (of emotion? of strength? of courage?) that will carry him along." (E.B. White, The Paris Review Interviews, 1969)

2.08.2009

Describe where you were and what you were doing when the following world-changing events happened.

1.) Challenger space shuttle exploded (1986): I was at Apollo High School. My friend Ben Danielson asked me if it was a joke (I assured him it was). We then went to science class (Mrs. Blankenship?) where they turned on the television to show us the explosion.

2.) Berlin Wall falls down (1989): Did this fall down at one particular time? I remember the discussion surrounding it, and the images of some of the first pieces coming down. Still, I remember the images of the wall coming down in Jesus Jones' "Right Here, Right Now" video more than the actual events.

3.) Oklahoma City federal building bombing (1995): This is pretty darn fuzzy as well. I don't think that Americans killing Americans is very traumatizing. We're pretty jingoistic and conceited, so failure or defeat by foreign powers seems to bruise our psyche pretty easily..

4.) OJ Verdict: I was in the graduate union at Penn State. People were a little shocked, but it was mostly *meh*.

5.) Princess Diana dies (1997): I was house sitting for a couple in Albuquerque. I was "breaking up" (getting dumped, really), by a long term girlfriend (she had a chance to live in Rome--who could blame her? Hell, I would have broken up with me for that chance). It was pretty darn traumatizing all around.6.) Columbine massacre (1999): Don't really remember. I get more worked up when I hear about massive auto or plane fatalities. This is likely because I have no children. Virginia Tech horrified me MUCH more because I assume that High School is traumatizing (with the required attendance, the bullying, etc.) and that college is pretty darn ideal (it was for me). These incidents bring me back to earth, but don't really arrest me the way that other social traumas do.

7.) JFK Jr. Plane crash (1999): No idea. It was very saddening to me, though.

9.) September 11, (2001): Driving around Albuquerque. Driving into Sandia Labs, I thought it was maybe a small plane (denial). When I couldn't get cnn.com, I knew something was terribly wrong. I hit my head against a bookshelf when it started to dawn upon me. I had a dentist appointment that morning. When I left the base, there was a line a mile long to get on base (they were sealing it off. I got the worst cleaning ever, as the dental technicians were watching the television. On the way home, I heard Tom Brokaw saying "Oh my God!" when the first tower collapsed. After that, I called my partner and told her "everything has changed.'

10.) Space ship Columbia disintegrates (2003): This was at the tail end of when I owned a television. I turned on the t.v. because I was bored. My partner and I cried when we found out. It still gets to me.

11.) Hurricane Katrina hits (2005): I was in Ohio. Because the horror built up, I mostly remember the headlines more than the place I was (hope that makes you a little bit happy, newspaper folks).